Storrs, Conn. – Stung by decades of jokes about mystery meat and soggy sandwiches, college dining halls around the country are borrowing recipes from the ultimate authority on heartwarming meals: Mom. (And Dad, too.)
That’s how Kristina Forzaglia’s favorite dish – her mother’s rich and creamy stroganoff – got on the University of Connecticut menu, along with other students’ comfort foods from home, such as Albanian chicken wings, couscous with spinach and pumpkin cookies.
Colleges see the approach as a way to lend a little culinary flair to their cafeterias and relieve homesickness, too.
“It’s a great connection with home for the students, and a way to deinstitutionalize a college food service program,” said J. Michael Floyd, food-service director at the University of Georgia, which pioneered the approach 20 years ago with its annual Taste of Home competition.
From hundreds of entries that are taste-tested each year, Georgia has selected such winners as eclair squares, poppy seed chicken and bulldog punch bowl cake.
“These parents aren’t just sharing a recipe,” Floyd said. “They’re sharing a family tradition.”
At Williams College in Wil liamstown, Mass., barbecued salmon and Thai eggplant dishes had their start in students’ homes, as did the Ukrainian apple nut squares and whole- wheat cheddar buns.
The practice has been catching on at big universities such as Yale and Harvard and small schools such as Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, W.Va., and Soka University of America in Aliso Viejo, Calif.
Some experts say it is just the kind of idea that would appeal to college-age “Millennials,” members of the generation born after 1981.
Cooking up family ties
Today’s students are more connected with their parents, and colleges see the home recipes as a useful link.
William Strauss, co-author with Neil Howe of “Millennials Rising” and “Millennials Go to College,” said those young adults are more connected with their parents than previous generations.
“By and large, the parents come from a generation that looks back on their college years with a fair amount of positive reflection and happy memories,” Strauss said. “Serving those family meals is an example of a college finding a positive way for the kids and the parents to take advantage of the tighter student-family connections that we already see in this group.”
Mona Milius, dining director for the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, said parents feel more confident about the quality of the dining halls when they visit, try the food and submit their own recipes.
“The students are thrilled about it, the parents are thrilled about it, and we’re happy because we get new items to add to our menu,” Milius said.
At UConn, which solicited family recipes this year for the first time, the Forzaglia family stroganoff won raves from students and college officials at a recent taste testing.
“It’s actually pretty simple to make, which is why I thought it might be good for the university,” said Kristina’s mother, Mary.
Students picked at random during a midweek lunch to try the new recipes were also wild for Dad’s Famous Albanian Chicken Wings, inspired by freshman Benjamin Subashi’s Albanian grandfather and submitted by his father.
“If they put these on the menu all the time, I’d be such a happy man,” said junior Mike Hannon of Belmont, Mass. He said the wings – baked, instead of deep-fried, with Italian dressing and Cajun spices – were so good they were “just ridiculous.”
Rob Landolphi, UConn’s culinary supervisor, said that in order to be added to the school menu, a home recipe must appeal to students, be easy to replicate on a large scale and taste exactly as it does at home.
“These kids have been eating these dishes their whole life,” he said, “so they’ll know if something has been changed.”
Good home cooking
Some recipes submitted by parents of University of Connecticut students. The recipes will be added to the cafeteria menu.
Husky Delight Stroganoff Submitted by the Forzaglia family of Shrewsbury, Mass.
Ingredients: 2 lbs. ground round 1 teaspoon garlic powder 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons sugar 1 pint sour cream 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese 1 large package medium egg noodles 5 scallions, chopped 4 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce dash of pepper parmesan cheese Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown meat in skillet and drain grease. Add garlic powder, salt, sugar, tomato sauce and pepper.
Mix together and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
While beef is cooking, cook noodles according to package directions.
In bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream and chopped scallions.
Butter inside of a three-quart casserole dish. In thin layers, place noodles on bottom, followed by meat sauce, then cream cheese mixture, top with parmesan cheese.
Repeat layers.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until it bubbles.
Serves: 8 to 10 people.
Dad’s Famous Albania Chicken Wings Submitted by the Subashi family of Mystic, Conn.
Ingredients: 1 package of chicken wings, about 20 wings per package 1 (12 oz.) bottle Italian dressing 2 tablespoons lemon juice 3 tablespoons Cajun seasoning 2 tablespoons garlic powder 1 tablespoon salt 2 tablespoons pepper 2 tablespoons paprika Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spread chicken wings side by side on flat cookie tray, with edges to keep juices in.
Squirt Italian dressing on wings to get them wet, then lightly sprinkle lemon juice on top.
Sprinkle Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, salt, pepper and paprika on wings.
Cook for 60 minutes until tops of wings are brown.
Flip the wings over with a spatula and drain excess juices from tray if necessary.
Coat the wings on that side with Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, pepper, salt and paprika.
Return to oven for about 20 to 30 minutes – adjust cooking time accordingly for wings to be more or less crispy.
Serve on your favorite UConn platter, by themselves or with ranch or blue cheese dressing.
Ice Box Cake Submitted by the Fisher family of South Windsor, Conn.
Ingredients: 3 boxes (3.4 oz.) vanilla “cook and serve” pudding 3 boxes (3.4 oz.) chocolate “cook and serve” pudding 1 box graham crackers Whole or 2 percent milk for use in preparing pudding Line bottom of a 9-by-13-inch pan with graham crackers.
Prepare vanilla pudding according to package directions, using whole or 2 percent milk to ensure it is creamy.
Pour pudding over graham crackers, and cover pudding with another layer of graham crackers.
Cook chocolate pudding according to package directions, again using whole or 2 percent milk.
Pour pudding over graham crackers, then cover with a layer of crushed graham crackers.
Chill in refrigerator until very cold, then cut into squares.
Serves 12 to 15.
Source: University of Connecticut Department of Dining Services
